Tag: James Deane

Deane X Więcek: Picking Up The Pieces by Speedhunters

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In some ways, I’m glad the first defeat has come.

There was a lot of hype about the arrival of the Worthouse Drift Team in Formula Drift for the 2017 season. Two new drivers on the grid, two new cars and a lot of unknowns. James’ victory in Long Beach was proof for many that he could walk the walk, although for some, his immediate success was enough for them to overturn their longtime support, instead preferring to take the more trendy view of him being overhyped and his win being a one-off.

Some of the things that I heard and read after Long Beach certainly elicited a laugh or two, including one claiming he had an advantage because the car was right-hand drive. Others, who previously sung his praises were now chomping at the bit, eager for his failure. Wait until he gets to the ovals they said…

2017 FD02 Orlando Worthouse Speedhunters by Paddy McGrath-1

It just happened that Round 2 this year is an oval circuit, with the Orlando Speed World venue having swapped places with Road Atlanta in the Formula D schedule. One ex-Formula D competitor warned me in advance that OSW made Ireland’s Rosegreen – itself a tiny short oval in rural Tipperary – look like Talladega.

2017 FD02 Orlando Worthouse Speedhunters by Paddy McGrath-2

It was an over exaggeration, of course, but we were certainly a long way from the well groomed streets of Long Beach. Orlando is the first stop on a tour which takes in four corners of the United States, a trip across to Canada, along with a round in the heart of Texas. Leaving the familiarity of California behind, it felt like we were about to enter the real war for the Formula Drift Championship.

2017 FD02 Orlando Worthouse Speedhunters by Paddy McGrath-3

It was certainly less glamorous in Florida, but we were not there for the scenery. By the time I arrived on Thursday morning, the Bridges Racing crew already had a foothold established in the paddock. With the Orlando round also being a Pro 2 event, it meant an extra day of practice for all Pro 1 competitors.

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Deane’s Domination: Behind The Scenes At FD LB

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10 years, 6 months, 1 week, 5 hours, 31 minutes, 55 seconds. That’s how long it took for James Deane to go from his first competitive drift event as an amateur to the top step of the podium for the first time at Formula Drift in Long Beach.

Before last weekend, a lot of people would have said this victory, maybe the most significant of his career, was inevitable. I wouldn’t have argued with them, but I know from experience that victory in motorsport is never guaranteed. It certainly does not come easy.

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Formula Drift 2017 Season Opener – James Deane Returns By What Monsters Do

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The Streets of Long Beach is a world renowned drift course, much like what Daytona is to NASCAR, and what Monaco is to Formula One. Many, if not all, competitive and leisure drifters have dreams of mastering this course sometime in their lifetime. Formula Drift begins each season on the Streets of Long Beach, which brings an end to anticipation and months of preparation. Anything could happen here… a great beginning to a successful season could be had, or disaster could strike at any of the turns and ruin a season in a few seconds. Throwing caution to the wind, a circus of extremely prepared teams arrived in Long Beach, and the 2017 Formula Drift season has begun. The Streets of Long Beach have a cruel habit of sorting out who is ready to ride walls, and who isn’t.

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Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Results;

James Deane Makes His Return to the Series and Takes the Victory

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 2, 2017 – Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras kicked off the 14th season with an exciting day of action at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. Irish driver James Deane returns to the Series and gets the win in the Worthhouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15.

“What a way to start the season,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With not only a capacity crowd, record numbers on the Livestream, but proof that Formula Drift is truly an international series where the best of the best come to compete.”

The first event of the season commenced on the Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course. The highly anticipated event was action packed from start to finish and the capacity crowd witnessed many competitive battles throughout the day. The event also introduced new drivers to the field including Georgy Chivchyan from Russia and Piotr Wiecek from Poland and marked the return of Irish driver, James Deane. The event broke records with the Livestream with over 1 million viewers tuning in from around the world over the two-day event weekend making for the largest viewership for a single event in Formula DRIFT history

Deane returned to Formula DRIFT after a seven year hiatus from the Series in dramatic fashion. Deane proved to be a contender after qualifying in second position and making his way through to the finals by defeating both former champion Michael Essa and the reigning and 3-time champion, Chris Forsberg. Deane met with Ryan Tuerck in the Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86 in the semi-finals and with consistent driving all-day and a solid chase run he was able to advance to the Finals. On the other side of the bracket in the semi-finals, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in the Falken Tire / Drifz Wheels / Ark Performance Nissan 240SX faced off against Alex Heilbrunn in the IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3. After a hard fought battle that was too close to call, the drivers met in a One More Time battle and while chasing Heilbrunn, Bakchis made an error entering the hairpin giving Heilbrunn the win to put him in the Finals. Deane’s consistency and technical driving was no match for Heilbrunn in the Finals and Deane won his first Formula DRIFT victory to take the lead in the chase for the championship.

“Man, what a way to start back in Formula DRIFT after missing out on the last seven years,” said James Deane, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. “I owe a lot to my good friend and teammate, Piotr Wiecek, who came up with this whole idea to come back to the Series as a two-car team. To come out with the win is just mind blowing. What a feeling!

For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

Winner

2. Heilbrunn, Alex

IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3

2nd Place

3. Tuerck, Ryan

Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86

3rd Place

4. Bakchis, Aurimas

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240

4th Place

5. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

5th Place

6. Coffman, Matt

Nexen Tire / Coffman Racing Nissan 240

6th Place

7. Forsberg, Chris

NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z

7th Place

8. Kearney, Dean

Oracle Lighting Dodgle Viper

8th Place

9. Gittin, Vaughn

Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

9th Place

10. Wiecek, Piotr

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

10th Place

11. Gushi, Ken

GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota Racing 86

11th Place

12. Field, Matt

Falken Tire / Vapetasia / ARK Performance Nissan 240

12th Place

13. Rintanen, Juha

STR Racing / Nexen Tire Nissan 240

13th Place

14. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46

14th Place

15. Pawlak, Justin

Roush Performance Ford Mustang

15th Place

16. Essa, Michael

Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW M3

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 1 Event

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

106.00 Points

2. Heilbrunn, Alex

IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3

84.00 Points

3. Tuerck, Ryan

Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86

69.00 Points

2017 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Toyota

121.00 Points

2. Ford

74.00 Points

3. Nissan

52.00 Points

4. Dodge

51.00 Points

5. BMW

35.00 Points

6. Infiniti 18.00 Points

2017 Tire Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Falken

174.00 Points

2. Nitto

123.00 Points

3. Hankook

121.00 Points

4. Nexen

104.00 Points

5. Achilles

86.00 Points